### ODT Online Sat, 21 Apr 2012Recycling facility formally opened
By Chris Morris
Dunedin’s recycling culture has come a long way in a short time, helped by the city’s multimillion-dollar Green Island recycling plant, Mayor Dave Cull says. His comments came as Mr Cull formally opened the plant yesterday, nine months and thousands of tonnes of mixed recycling after the Materials Recovery Facility was first commissioned in June last year.

The recycling plant was part of a partnership between the council and several companies. The plant was built on Hall Bros land by another of owner Doug Hall’s companies, Anzide Properties. It was equipped by Carter Holt Harvey and operated by the company’s subsidiary, Fullcircle Recycling, which shared office space on site with EnviroWaste, which provided collection services for the council.

15 responses to “Green Island recycling plant”

You don’t have to go very far north (South Canterbury) to see a much better system.
Three bin system including green waste, not crowing about how damned good their really old blue bin system is.
Now waste, there’s a word. It seems to describe our council so well.

Want to get rid of your old tv? For five bucks you can drop it into Smiths City Andersons Bay who are participating in the TV TakeBack programme. This is probably better than dropping off at the tip and a bit cheaper than the cost of disposing through a professional recycling company.

Check it out over at the ODT:

### ODT Online Tue, 26 Mar 2013Scheme for TV recycling
Shawn McAvinue
A government scheme to recycle unwanted televisions started in the South yesterday. Environment Minister Amy Adams said the TV TakeBack programme aimed to have televisions recycled, rather than dumped in landfill. Televisions contained lead and mercury, which could be harmful if released into soils and waterways, ”so they should not be dumped in landfills.”
Read morehttp://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/250796/scheme-tv-recycling

Ps. My point about recycling tv’s does is not meant to dismiss the horror stories about the unfortunate buggers who are at the end of the line stripping tech down to its valuable and often dangerous components, for corporates to then on-sell for profit.

It costs $25 at present to recycle a television at Rummage […and…] a lot of people were dumping televisions with their rubbish because it was cheaper.

Wow. Twenty five bucks to dump your telly. No wonder nobody’s fronting up to the Rummage office. At that price, it makes other opportunities look affordable: Maybe we could all chip in to recycle some of the Stadium Councillors? There are limited processing blocks in them but plenty of dangerous parts that need to be removed to protect the local environment.

Well done to Smiths City for picking up the campaign opportunity.

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### ODT Online Fri, 29 Mar 2013Hundreds tune in to TV drop-off
By Dan Hutchinson
At least 200 television hoarders have taken advantage of a $5 recycling deal in just the first day and a-half of the promotion. Smiths City Andersons Bay has had a steady procession of cars arriving with old televisions stuffed into the back seat or the boot. The deal was part of the Government-subsidised ”TV TakeBack” programme.
Read morehttp://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/251143/hundreds-tune-tv-drop

### ch9.co.nz April 16, 2013 – 7:00pmPrice to drop for recycling of old televisions
The price will drop and access to collection sites will increase for people wanting to get rid of unwanted televisions. The Dunedin City Council has taken advantage of new Ministry for the Environment funding to provide a $5 recycling fee, down from $25.

New collection sites have also been added.

The recycling of old televisions is being enhanced as the countdown to the 28th of April digital switchover continues. The former Jacko’s wood yard in Thomas Burns Street will be open for TV recycling for five days from this Thursday. The council is also supporting a University of Otago collection site in the car park beside the former Wickliffe Press building this weekend.Ch9 Link

### ODT Online Thu, 18 Apr 2013Fee of $5 to recycle TVs
By Shawn McAvinue
More Dunedin collection depots will open today for people to recycle unwanted televisions, Dunedin City Council waste strategy officer Catherine Irvine says. The council was supporting the Ministry for the Environment’s TV TakeBack programme, which encouraged people to recycle unwanted televisions for a $5 fee. Ms Irvine said about 95% of a television could be recycled. It was important televisions were recycled, rather than dumped, because they contained hazardous materials. The council had a government subsidy quota to collect 4300 sets for the $5 subsidised fee, she said.
The council was partnering with RCN e-Cycle and would be collecting unwanted televisions at Jacko’s Yard, in Thomas Burns St, and Rummage, at the Green Island Transfer Station.
University of Otago property services sustainability co-ordinator Dr Hilary Phipps said students had volunteered to collect unwanted televisions in the car park beside the Wickliffe Press building in Forth St on Saturday and Sunday. The $5 recycling fee applied and the TV set would be given to RCN e-Cycle to dismantle in Christchurch, Dr Phipps said.Smiths City Andersons Bay manager Vick Veera said unwanted televisions would be accepted for the $5 fee until April 28.Read more

A retired farmer is taking on the Dunedin City Council at its own game by starting up an alternative green waste operation.

### ODT Online Sun, 30 Nov 2014Cut-price private landfill causes council concern
By Dan Hutchinson – The Star
A green-waste disposal business in Burnside is drawing praise from regular users but has authorities concerned about the potential for pollution. Bob Gillanders said more than 1000 trailer-loads of green waste had been deposited at his Burnside dump since he opened it two months ago. ”The reason was purely and simply one thing – the DCC were charging too much.”Read more

Here we go, asset management called sell-off. Hurry boys, before the rate-paying public wake up !!!

Mayor Dave Cull and Crs Richard Thomson and Mike Lord, who formed an advisory group monitoring work on the issue over the past six months, yesterday said […] decisions had to be made now.

### ODT Online Fri, 12 Dec 2014DCC exploring options for landfill
By Debbie Porteous
The Dunedin City Council is investigating a private-public partnership to manage the council’s landfill at Green Island. It is also exploring options for the management of waste from the city after the year 2023, when the consent for the Green Island landfill runs out.Read more

The Dunedin City Council is investigating a joint venture arrangement for the management of its Green Island Landfill, as part of exploring options for the future of waste disposal and minimisation.
Mayor of Dunedin Dave Cull says, “The Council has already approved the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan which sets clear targets for us. Now we are exploring options to ensure the resilience of our waste management systems for future ratepayers.” Under all the options being looked at, ownership of the Landfill would remain with the DCC to ensure the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan would continue to be implemented. “The Landfill’s current resource consents expire in 2023 and it’s prudent to begin thinking now about how we deliver these services in the decades to come.”

The Council has decided to explore the idea of a joint venture with a private partner. Any decision would be months away and the process would include a public consultation process if any changes were proposed. As a first step, expressions of interest in a joint venture are being sought, closing at the end of January. Dunedin City Holdings Limited, which owns Council companies on the Council’s behalf, has been involved in the preparation of the expressions of interest documents.

DCC General Manager Infrastructure and Networks Tony Avery says the joint venture proposal relates only to the Landfill and does not have any effect on the kerbside recycling collection. The DCC has several options available for the long-term future of waste management in the city. These include applying for consents from the Otago Regional Council to extend the current Landfill site, doing further investigative work and applying for consents to use a site at Smooth Hill which has been designated for that purpose, or considering a new site. Mr Avery says a public/private partnership venture could potentially bring significant benefits. A private operator from the waste management sector would contribute expertise and knowledge as well as capital funding for future development.

This is not a new approach for local authorities. The Kate Valley Landfill, which services the broader Canterbury area, is governed by a partnership between five Canterbury councils and Canterbury Waste Services (which is owned by Waste Management NZ Ltd). For reasons of commercial sensitivity, the issue of commercial landfill operations has been discussed by the Council in non-public in recent months. A governance advisory group, comprising Mr Cull and Councillors Richard Thomson and Mike Lord, has monitored the process with senior staff and DCHL.

### dunedintv.co.nz December 15, 2014 – 8:10pmFuture of the Green Island landfill in question
The Dunedin City Council is looking at the future of the Green Island landfill, and a possible replacement site. It’s calling for expressions of interest into a potential public/private model for managing waste. And while consent for the Green Island landfill doesn’t expire for nine years, council staff say now is the time to set a new plan in motion.Video

### ODT Online Tue, 17 Feb 2015DCC mum on landfill partner applicants
By Chris Morris
The Dunedin City Council has received five expressions of interest as it continues to explore a possible private-public partnership to manage the city’s landfill. However, council staff are remaining tight-lipped about where the interest is coming from, and refusing to say whether companies from outside the city – or the country – are keen to get involved.Read more

The word on the street is that the chosen site could be Hyde St, Could be another tourist attraction for the city. Tourists could watch our future Lawyers , Doctors and Judges in action in their play ground.

Off to landfill. A skip outside 52 Russell Street earlier – the property’s being cleared for new owners. The old hall was home to Cr Fliss Butcher, a ‘greenie’. Shocked to see screeds of white paper and cardboard just being tossed. Unrecycled. Fliss was the lady who loved trees so much you’ll remember her election year stunt of wrapping the Octagon trees with blankets to keep them warm!

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{Scavenger couldn’t take a pic – this is a little ‘flat’ but we recreate the scene. Minus Ian and Fliss. -Eds}

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 05:00, March 15 2015Making treasure from footpath trash
Source: Sunday News
The collectors cruised the quiet suburban streets, eyes constantly flicking to the kerbside. Some came on foot. Some came on bikes. Others, the grizzled veterans, drove utes and vans, or towed trailers. We were all looking for the same thing – a glimmer of something valuable among the ragged clothes, splintered furniture and neglected toys on the neatly manicured berms. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Never is this more true than on inorganic collection weekend.

Two things struck me. First, we are enormously wasteful. […] The second thing was that humans are highly resourceful.

My first foray into scouring the streets was prompted by a need for a desk and chair. I’d budgeted about $50 for a second-hand setup. After browsing Trade Me for a while, I looked up the next inorganic collection date on a whim. Lo and behold! As it turned out, the fine citizens of Remuera, Auckland were kicking their discarded debris to the kerb that very weekend. With no real expectations, I set off on my treasure hunt the next morning. Within three streets and 15 minutes, I’d gathered enough materials to build a desk. I also scored the perfect chair, some cushions and a large mirror, all in good nick.Carting my haul home, I spent a couple of pleasant hours in the sun cutting off the battered bits and whacking together a decent desk. The total cost: zero dollars.Read more

Areas most commonly used by illegal dumpers include parts of the Taieri, Blackhead, Green Island and North Dunedin.

### ODT Online Sun, 25 Oct 2015Dumped rubbish irks locals
By Brenda Harwood – The Star
A recent spate of nuisance rubbish dumping around Dunedin’s rural fringes is frustrating residents and the Dunedin City Council, and raising concerns about what lies ahead for the summer. […] Contacted by The Star, Dunedin City Council acting solid waste manager Catherine Irvine said some offenders went to “extraordinary lengths” to illegally dump rubbish, often transporting it some distance out of town under the cover of darkness.Read more

█ Members of the public who see illegally dumped rubbish or who witness an incident are urged to phone 477-4000 and report it, but not to disturb the scene.

[joke] DCC: ‘It was surprising anyone would see this as more convenient or cost-effective than using one of the city’s four available disposal facilities or recycling services.’

Almost 3000 television sets are thrown into the Green Island landfill each year, 42 times the number recycled at the facility.

### ODT Online Sun, 31 Jan 2016Frustration as TVs dumped, not recycled
By Carla Green
….On all fronts, [Green Island landfill engineer] Dave Hanan says, recycling electronics and disposing of their toxic chemicals properly is “the right thing to do”. The problem is that recycling television sets is expensive – almost prohibitively so. Recycling a set at Green Island costs $40, but disposing of a small load of rubbish costs just $13. That is probably why an average of eight television sets per day go into the Green Island landfill, while only 69 are recycled all year long.Read more